


Trust: Blue

by MegaKat



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball
Genre: Ami Kicking Nappa's Ass, Ami's Delightfully Kinky in This, Anonymous Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Love Letters, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Saiyan Poetry, This was honestly a lot of fun to write!, it's always the quiet ones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-07-27 07:14:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7608754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaKat/pseuds/MegaKat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ami's side of things in the Trust saga. You don't have to take a wild guess to figure out who I paired her with...</p><p>OH HEY!! ATTENTION! This story DOES include some nuggets of info about how the war got started... including the catalyst that started it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

                “Your turn for guard detail?” Nappa asked in a friendly tone as he approached a Senshi he hadn’t formally met yet... though to be fair, the fact that she’d nearly killed him the only time they’d met had counted as quite the first impression. Even before that fight, the reputation she’d made for herself during the war had definitely preceded her, and when he’d fought her one on one during the Battle of Uranus, the petite princess of Mercury had given him a run for his money and a case of frostbite that had taken a week to properly heal, even with a medtank. Not to mention the broken ribs, wrist and collarbone. The woman wasn’t only a formidable opponent… she’d damn near killed him. Not many people living could brag about such a thing in regards to the Saiyan general.

                “No, I’m here for my health,” she replied coldly without even looking up from her book to acknowledge his presence. It didn’t matter who he was anyway; it was just another of King Vegeta’s lackeys trying to hit on her like they’d done to every single sister of hers so far. Ami had neither the time nor the patience for such a thing, so she continued to read silently, ignoring the feeling of being watched even though it made her feel awkward and rude for ignoring whoever had joined her in the king and queen’s foyer.

                Fifteen minutes passed before Nappa spoke again; he’d tried his best to be quiet since she was reading and speaking would be rude, but the fact that she’d immediately snapped at him without even knowing who he was got on his nerves more and more as the minutes ticked by. “Look, Blue—“

                “ _Don’t_ call me that,” she said flatly, stopping him short. “Look, I think it would be best if we stuck to formalities…” Ami looked up then to find out whom she was addressing, and when she discovered the general of the entire Saiyan armada she flushed bright red in embarrassment. “…um… General Nappa… um… my… my apologies, I didn’t realize it was you. I… I thought it was Raditz or Turles and I’ve um… heard stories, you know?”

                “I wasn’t trying to make a pass at you, Highness, I was trying to extend an olive branch. We didn’t exactly part on friendly terms the last time we met,” he pointed out with a wry smile.

                The fact that he wasn’t being a sore loser made her return the smile, and Ami managed a modest shrug as she marked her place in her book and closed it. “How are the ribs?”

                “Fine, thanks. Your arm?”

                Flexing her hand as she remembered the pain of having both her radius and ulna broken with one swift jerk of his massive fingers, Ami instinctively grimaced. “Lucky for me, I didn’t need a medtank. Usa healed it an hour after you broke it. How about the collarbone… and the wrist? … _and_ the frostbite,” she added as her tiny smile returned.

                “Yeah, yeah, keep on bragging, woman,” Nappa chuckled. “I know you kicked my ass, I’ve never denied it. In fact, I looked forward to a rematch for the rest of the war but never ran into you again. I don’t suppose you’d grant me one in the training room after our shift’s over?”

                Ami couldn’t help but feel a little smug as she looked him over, trying her best to ignore his surprisingly charming— and equally disarming, smile. When she’d fought him she’d ignored how handsome she’d immediately found him, but now that they were supposed to be allies, she couldn’t help but appreciate how very, very tall the general was and his gracious behavior towards his sound thrashing by a woman half his size.

                “As long as your version of a rematch doesn’t entail whatever Raditz thought it did. I heard that Rei practically boiled his blood for trying to cop a feel,” Ami informed him with another tiny smile.

                “I swear to be a perfect gentleman,” Nappa promised easily, extending a hand to shake with her. “And no hard feelings about the war,” he added as his massive, half-gloved hand engulfed hers and he was careful not to squeeze it too hard as they shook.

                “I must admit, General, you’re an awfully gracious loser. I didn’t expect that from a Saiyan,” Ami confessed. “Are you always so generous about being beaten?”

                “Only when the opponent’s beauty had me distracted for most of the fight,” he replied with a grin and a wink, pleased to watch her immediately blush at the comment. “If I’d beaten you, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have killed you, you know. I remember thinking that such a beautiful warrior only comes around once in a lifetime and that you’d make a stunning war trophy.”

                She knew it was one of the highest compliments that a Saiyan could pay an enemy, but Ami couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Yes, but you forget that a living war trophy can still kill you in your sleep, General.”

                “Heh… fair enough. I’m sure the thought would have crossed my mind as I woke to having my throat slit,” he snickered.          

                “Or snowballs,” Ami added dryly.

#####################################

                “Damn, Nappa… you piss Prince Vegeta off or something?”

                Turning his head to answer Raditz hurt his neck a little and shrugging hurt even more, but Nappa managed to pull it off with as much grace as he was able. “Nah. A Senshi… though to be fair, if I’d actually pissed her off, I’d probably be dead. Heh… or have snowballs,” he snickered, recalling Ami’s earlier comment, along with another during the middle of their training session, when he’d pinned her to the wall, grinned, and chuckled something in her ear about what a stunning war trophy she would’ve made.

                The princess of Mercury had promptly responded with a smirk against his neck and a light punch to his groin that had only incapacitated him for a minute because of the brief, freezing cold grip on his nuts that she’d created with her ice powers. “Snowballs,” she’d reminded him with a smug grin.

                “Dickcicle,” he’d added weakly, his voice an octave higher than normal as he’d rubbed his privates in a desperate attempt to warm them.

                The sight of that combined with his comment had brought forth a musical giggle from Ami that would have set his blood on fire if only his balls hadn’t been frozen at the moment, and Nappa chuckled as he remembered the sound of it, followed by her squeal of panic when he’d climbed to his feet and tackled her in a move that had reminded him more of a schoolyard brawl than a spar. “It was the best fight I’ve had in a long time, Raddy. Hopefully she’ll give me another rematch tomorrow.”

                “Sparring, then,” the slightly shorter warrior chuckled as he looked his friend up and down slowly and shook his head in wonder. “Damn if she didn’t work you over good. Who was it? Rei beat me up pretty bad a few days ago, but I made puppy eyes at the queen and scored a healing. Wait… did you say ‘snowballs?’” He snickered.

                “Yeah. It was Ami,” Nappa replied, wincing at his split lip even as he smiled while tonguing it, recalling how surprised he’d been by that left cross. For a tiny little thing, the princess of Mercury sure had a mean fucking punch… especially when she put some of her power into the swing.

                Raditz’s surprise wasn’t lost on Nappa; he’d felt that same shock during the battle in space when she’d _really_ fucked him up, and he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pride on her behalf. Gods damn it, the woman was a spitfire, and when he’d fought back with everything he’d had, she’d also proven herself to be one hell of a tactician.

                Since she’d known and memorized all his moves from their previous encounter, she’d dodged him quite easily and had walked away from the spar mostly unscathed, sporting only a few bruises and cuts, and when he’d immediately stepped back after splitting her lip in return for his own, Ami had launched an attack at him that had put him into the nearest wall.

                Nappa would never make that mistake again, that was for sure. She’d taken his momentary hesitation because she was a female, and she’d thrown in back in his face as she’d practically spit in his eye. He admired the hell out of her for it, too. “Gods, I love it when a woman can kick my ass,” he murmured to himself.

                “Oh shit, Nappa said the L word.”

                “Shuddup,” he huffed good-naturedly. “You should’ve been there, Raddy. All of the warriors in the room were practically drooling as they watched her beat me into the dirt. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of them were following at her heels within five minutes and begging her to mark them as hers.”

                “But not you?” Raditz asked with a waggle of his eyebrows. “I see that look in your eyes, old man. You want her.”

                “That obvious?”

                “Dude, it’s written all over your busted-up face. Go offer her dinner… or at least go talk to her!”

                Nappa nearly agreed, but he couldn’t help but hesitate as he thought of either angering her or terrifying her with the prospect of being courted by a warrior she’d hated only months ago. “I don’t know… I… I’d rather still see her as a friend everyday than never see her again just because I opened my mouth.”

                “ _Dude_!” Raditz exclaimed, slapping his hand to his forehead, “if someone as awkward with women as my nephew—and dear gods help me, my _father,_ too—can weasel his way into some royal panties, then _so can you_!”

                “I don’t want to weasel my way into anything,” Nappa replied with a soft growl. “Watch yourself, Raditz.”

                “You know what I fucking mean,” Raditz insisted. “Red even let Goten leave a courting mark, and if Mako doesn’t do the same with Dad within the next couple weeks, I’ll eat my fucking boots! What if you and Ami— don’t give me that look, Nappa, hear me out! If you’re afraid of talking to her, then why not just send her a letter or something? You don’t even have to sign it,” he sighed in exasperation when Nappa only continued to give him that same look. “Lay on the charm. I know you can be a smooth motherfucker when you break out the poetry.”

                Nappa regarded him silently for a long moment before sighing and shaking his head slowly. “No, Raddy. I haven’t written anything like _that_ in… gods, in _decades_.”

                “Nappa, I see that look in your eyes. Don’t you dare try and tell me that Ami doesn’t bring Saiyan poetry to mind for you. Shit, you were probably thinking it up as she kicked your ass,” Raditz insisted.

                Gods damn it, he was absolutely right and Nappa couldn’t deny it; one line had popped into his head during the spar and had stuck with him on a repeating loop in his mind the entire time, and he had to admit that it really was a damned good line. “She’s a blade,” he murmured, “so sharp that just looking at her’s wounded me.”

                “Dude, that right there would drop Saiyan panties in a heartbeat and you know it! Shit, if _you_ don’t use that _I will_! That’s gold, Nappa!” Raditz exclaimed. “Heh… I’ve got a great follow-up for that, too. Tell her that when you look at her, it sets your heart to pounding so hard that you bleed out.”

                “Oooo… damn it, Raditz, that’s _good_ ,” Nappa breathed in surprise. Normally Raditz sucked at Saiyan poetry, but every once in a while he’d drop a line that absolutely beautiful.

                Beautiful to Saiyans, at any rate. So far, their ideas about beauty had been met with mixed results from foreign women… especially the Solarians. Something told Nappa that Ami would appreciate a bit of Saiyan culture, though, and he had to admit that the idea of a letter was starting to grow on him.

                “Heh, I’m good for one every now and then. Not like you, though. I swear, you live and breathe that poetic shit when you’re in the right mood,” Raditz murmured. “You really should write her a letter, even if it’s anonymous. At the very worst she’ll throw it out, right?”

                “I wish I had your nonchalance about women,” the general sighed, suddenly unsure about the idea. “The thought of her throwing it in the trash hurts, Raddy…” **_Really_** _hurts_ , he thought privately. _A lot._ “…but if I do send a letter, should I send it with something? A _wer’kha_ pelt, maybe?”

                “Nah, way too soon. She ain’t Saiyan, Nappa. Send it with flowers. Solarian girls like flowers… and I know that Ami likes water lilies. She also likes books, you know… you couldn’t possibly strike out by sending her a book of Saiyan customs or legends in our native language. Heh, maybe we should find a copy of ‘Saiyans For Dummies: The Vagina Edition.’ I keep hearing that it’s hysterical. She can get educated and entertained at the same time,” Raditz suggested thoughtfully as they reached Nappa’s room and the taller warrior swung the door open and waved him inside before sitting at his massive desk and pulling out some paper and a pen. “Oh, snap, you’re actually going to do it!? Hells yes!”

                “Yeah, I’m going to do it,” Nappa snorted as he tapped the pen thoughtfully on the desk. “And you’re going to go get us some food. I have a feeling that this is going to take a while.”

###########################

                Much to Raditz’s surprise, Nappa was already finished with his letter by the time he returned with a bag of takeaway, the general muttering something about the words just falling right out of the pen as he’d thought about her… and the weakest of the Elite had to admit that for a first draft, it was perfect. In fact, it really didn’t need any revisions, in his opinion. The only thing it needed was… “Stop your letter right here,” Raditz murmured, pointing about halfway down the page. “Save it for the second letter you send. Just trust me,” he added when Nappa opened his mouth to protest, “less is more, man. You don’t want to give her all of your best lines at once.”

                “I’m not trying to just lay a line on her, Raditz,” Nappa ground out, “I mean _every_ word of this.”

                “I know that,” Raditz replied patiently, “but just trust me on this, ok? Seriously, man, I know you were a player when you were my age, but you’re about fifty years out of practice. Just take my advice on this.”

                “I’m not trying to play her, either,” his superior stated firmly. “My intentions are to mate her if she’ll have me.”

                “Damn… that serious, huh? Yeah, of course it is, that was stupid of me to ask,” Raditz sighed as he took the letter and sat down in another chair, frowning as he concentrated on Nappa’s neat, tight handwriting. The fact that he wanted to mate her changed things a little, so Raditz studied the page, ready to make corrections to reflect Nappa’s intentions. “Ok…” he eventually murmured, reaching out for the pen to make corrections and taking it quickly, his tongue sticking slightly out of the corner of his mouth as he went to work on Nappa’s creation, ignoring the massive warrior reading over his shoulder. “…here… and here… and right here, too, and… better. Much better. You wanna go pick a water lily to send with it, or should I?” Raditz asked as he handed the letter back and grinned at Nappa’s immediate nod of approval when he read the corrections.

                “I’ll get it,” the general remarked absently as he read the letter over again and stopped with a frown. “You _really_ think it’d be better if I cut it off here and sent the other half another time?”

                “It’s your choice, but yeah. Just trust me, man.” Raditz waited and watched while Nappa pulled out another sheet of paper to write a modified second draft, and when he got two sentences in and scribbled something out, then growled and reached for another sheet, the younger warrior stopped him. “No, keep writing on the second paper. It’ll look like you didn’t go through a couple drafts if there’s squiggles over misspelled words. That way you don’t look so desperate.”

                “Yeah, you’d know _all_ about looking desperate,” Nappa quipped before penning the rest of his note and finally handing it over with a sigh. “Well?”

                “Perfect. Now, let’s eat, then go find a flower or a book or something as a gift, and if we hurry she’ll be in the mess hall when you leave it at her door. That way she’ll find it when she comes back and we don’t have to worry about you getting caught in the act.”

#########################################

                “Somehow I’m _not_ surprised,” Ami sighed when she returned to her quarters to find a thick piece of paper rolled up and bound with a string, a blue water lily secured to it. What she was a little surprised to find was a book resting beneath it, and the Senshi of wisdom’s face lit up when she knelt and discovered something she hadn’t read yet, an older tome of Saiyan legends that she hadn’t even heard of. “Oh… oh _wow_. Someone did their homework on me,” she whispered in impressed, flattered surprise as she opened the book, only to close it abruptly and blush hotly at her own rudeness.

                “It’d be mean not to at least read the letter before I look at the book,” she realized as she stood and looked around to see if anyone was watching her in the hallway, hoping to find a clue as to who had left her the book, note and flower. No one was there, though. At least not that she knew of, anyway. Saiyans were very good at hiding quietly when they wanted to, so it stood to reason that her admirer could be watching her from a dark corner further down the hall.

                “Thank you,” she said softly before retreating to her room, setting the book down on her desk before sitting and untying the string around the paper, unrolling it and immediately reddening at the sight of a love letter.

 

                _Ami,_

                _I’ve tried to keep my silence for weeks, but the more I see you, the more I ache to tell you how I feel. I’m aware that this letter might be offensive to you since I’ve seen the way you’ve rebuffed the advances of other warriors, so let me begin by assuring you that offending you is the last thing I ever want to do. I only wish to tell you how I feel and I’ll keep it at that._

_Ami, you are a knife. A knife that I’ve been wounded with, and whenever I look at you my heart pounds and I bleed out. If only you knew what you do to me. Your beauty is more glorious than the battlefield; your scent more intoxicating than the sweet perfume of death._

_When you fight it’s like I’m watching Sh herself. Such dangerous beauty is reserved only for the gods, and you, Ami, lay your enemies low before you’ve even struck._

_I wish I could tell you these things in person, if only to watch you blush as you have in the training room. But I can’t tell you—the idea of your rejection terrifies me almost as much as the idea that you might hate me for saying these things to you. It scares me so much that I would rather watch you from afar than never see you again._

_Please, if I have no chance at all, give me some kind of sign. Tell me now and perhaps in time the wound you’ve left me with will heal._

“Oh my… that… it’s so beautiful,” Ami breathed as she absently scratched at a hive that had popped up on her arm, noticing it and several others moments later and sighing. “Oh, come on. I thought I wasn’t allergic to love letters anymore. Damn it. Ten years of fighting and killing Saiyans in battle and I can’t read a love letter without breaking out in hives!? Really!?”

After she’d folded the letter up and tucked it inside of the book he’d left her, Ami dug around in her subspace for an antihistamine and took it to treat her hives, finally drumming her fingers on the table as she wondered who could have possibly sent it. “I wish I knew… then I could give him a sign as he’d asked if I wasn’t interested. But… I have to admit, his letter was beautiful.” So beautiful that the more she thought about it, the more she found herself interested in him—wondering what he looked like, how his voice sounded, and if he spoke as eloquently as he could write. Hell, she could at least give him a date to see if there was any physical chemistry.

“I guess… I guess that means that I do nothing? He asked for a sign if he didn’t have a chance. He didn’t ask me to give him one if he _does_ have a chance,” Ami deduced. “I just wish I knew who it was. Before that spar with Nappa it would have been easy enough to figure out, but now almost every Saiyan in the palace is asking to court me. Hm… but not _this_ warrior. He said he’s been watching me for weeks and he’s seen how many warriors have approached me… so it _does_ stand to reason that whoever sent the letter hasn’t even spoken to me once.”

Unfortunately for Ami, the list of warriors that were too intimidated by the Senshi to approach them was nearly as long as the list of the warriors that were actively pursuing them, so it wouldn’t be easy to figure out who’d sent it unless she started asking around. And asking around would alert everyone to the fact that Ami might be interested in someone. And if they found out the particulars of why she was interested, she’d only be inviting copycats and more anonymous letters from warriors that she _wasn’t_ interested in. “Yeah… no. I’ll wait and bide my time… maybe he’ll just come up and talk to me tomorrow when I don’t leave a sign outside my door to tell him to go away.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hm, I should probably include in the story summary that Trust: Blue includes little nuggets of info that tell how the war started in the first place...

For five days, Ami looked expectantly at every warrior that approached her, studying them before they spoke, hoping that one of them would confess to writing the love letter she’d committed to memory.

She’d read it a thousand times at least, and before her evening shift with Nappa on the fifth day, she found a bundle of long-stemmed Jovian lilies in the chair that she usually sat in outside of the king and queen’s suite of rooms whenever she was on duty. Blushing hotly at the sight of a note bundled up with the bouquet, Ami looked around rapidly for any sign of her secret admirer, only to feel a wave of disappointment when she spotted no one at all in that wing of the palace.

No, she was completely alone. He must have come during the two minutes between shifts while she’d been speaking with Rei out in the main hallway, and he’d somehow managed to slip in and out of one of the side doors just as quickly as he’d come. “He’s crafty,” Ami murmured, “and he knows how the guard changes work… right down to the minute. He _has_ to be an Elite warrior… or at the very least, a second class palace guard,” she decided as she scooped up the flowers and drew the note out with a swift ache of longing in her chest, unrolling it and immediately feeling hives break out in reaction to the sight of his first paragraph… her face burning hot as she read the second and beyond… but beyond caring about the hives or her embarrassment as she devoured the passionate words and felt her building desire to meet the man that had _twice_ bared his soul to her so bravely and earnestly.

 

_My dearest Ami,_

_I saw you looking for me three days ago at mess, watching every warrior that spoke to you, obviously wondering if any one of them was me, and I have to admit that it gave me hope. So here I am, writing you another letter out of hope. Hope that you won’t strike me down the moment you read what I have to say, hope that you won’t reject me outright as I bluntly confess what you do to me._

                _What you do to me can’t even be put properly into words, but_ _I’m going to give it my best_ — _just the sight of you brings my beast to the surface. Your scent makes it harder to fight it than the full moon, and now, when you’re in heat, I can barely think of anything except for how you’d feel pressed against me, moaning and crying out like the victims of a purge. Some cultures call the height of pleasure ‘the little death,’ and every night since I first laid eyes on you, I’ve dreamed of killing you again and again until you beg me to stop, until you plead for me to die with you, to take all of you and give you all of me in return._

_I’ve never felt like this about a woman in my entire life, Ami. I wonder what would happen if I looked you in the eye, if I held your gaze for more than a few moments. Would we feel the pull? I know it’s rare, but in all my years I’ve never encountered a woman that puts my beast on edge just by looking at her from across a room, a woman that makes my blood race like I’m in the heat of battle. Looking at you, I feel more alive than I ever have in my life, even more than when I’ve stood on the brink of death and looked Ta himself in the eye. The thought of how alive I’d feel if you simply let me hold you both thrills me and terrifies me at the same time, and lately I find myself unable to sleep just from the rush I feel whenever I think of not only holding you, but kissing you. If that alone keeps me up at night, I’m sure you can imagine my sleeplessness whenever I dare to fantasize about loving you, and I think it’s safe to say that I’ll likely go mad from the lack of sleep soon._

                _Forgive my boldness in this letter, my intention wasn’t to offend you, only to explain how badly I ache to feel you in my arms, how you’ve filled me with a raw need that I can’t shake, that I long to fulfill but can’t without you. If you wish for me to never write you again, I’ll comply—you have only to set the flowers I sent you outside your door. When I see them, I’ll know that you no longer wish to hear from me. I’ll do my best to keep my distance so that I won’t risk saying anything to you in person. The last thing I ever want, Ami, is to hurt you in any way, and I hope you understand that. My deepest wish is for your happiness, even if that means never seeing you again. If you do not want me, if you do not share the longing I feel to hold you, even a little bit, please… I beg you, Ami. Please set the flowers outside your door. Perhaps in time, years from now, I’ll find a way to be free of my feelings for you, but until you reject me, they’ll only continue to deepen._

_Faithfully Yours_

 

                “What’re you reading, Blue?”

                Shrieking in surprise, Ami quickly stuffed the letter in her subspace before snapping her head up to look at Nappa, her blue eyes wider than he’d ever seen them and her face crimson in a mixture of arousal and embarrassment. “I—uh—I—um—uh—you see—I just—I—I—“

                “You’re covered in hives,” he rumbled when she fidgeted and looked away quickly as soon as he made eye contact for the briefest of seconds, breaking it like she always did out of a deep-seated paranoia of feeling the pull… something she’d confessed to him during their spar the other day—spars that had become a daily habit for the two of them over the last week.

She wasn’t the only Senshi that avoided every Saiyans’ eyes, though, so Nappa didn’t take offense. All of the Senshi did it except for Makoto, who’d felt the pull for Bardock… which had spurred on her sisters’ paranoia in the first place. “Blue… you ok? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so red-faced, either.” _Goddamn, I really should’ve been an actor,_ he mused silently, only to inwardly cringe at what came next. “Are you having an allergic reaction to those flowers or something? You want me to get rid of them for—“

                “ ** _No_**!” Ami cried as she snatched the flowers away when he tried to reach for them, clutching them protectively, lovingly, and possessively to her chest. “No, I’m not allergic to the flowers. I… um… it’s just…” Meeting his eyes briefly, Ami swallowed hard before shaking her head slightly. “If I tell you something,” she began hesitantly, dropping her voice to the barest of shaky whispers, “will you swear on your tail not to tell _anyone_?”

                “Sure,” Nappa stated as he watched her look back down at the bouquet, inwardly crowing and dancing happily when she caressed the petals of one of the flowers with a tiny smile and longing in her eyes. “We’re friends, Blue. You can tell me anything and I won’t repeat it if you don’t want me to. Swear it on my tail. Did you get those from a suitor or something? Wait, what’s that word you Solarians use… a boyfriend?”

                “Well… actually… yes,” she whispered. “For a lack of a better word to call him… yes. He’s sent me two love letters now, but… I don’t know who he is. And well, the hives… it sounds ridiculous, but I’m allergic to love letters,” Ami giggled. “Not the flowers.”

                _Aw, fuck._ Fighting down every instinct to apologize and beg her forgiveness, Nappa just nodded, taking an awful lot of solace in the fact that the wistful smile on her lips had yet to disappear… as well as the longing and desire in her eyes. “So… you like this guy?”

                “Yes,” she sighed, unaware of how her expression and her voice had taken Nappa’s breath away. “His letters are so beautiful, Nappa… I honestly didn’t know that Saiyans were capable of writing such lovely poetry… or anything at all that’s so emotionally _honest_ ,” Ami admitted softly. “No offense, of course.”

                “None taken,” Nappa snorted. “So… you don’t know who he is. What are you going to do about it?”

                “I honestly don’t know,” the princess of Mercury confessed. “Nappa,” she began, hesitating for a long moment before making the decision to ask his advice. After all, he was Saiyan… _and_ he was the only Saiyan she’d met that she trusted. They’d only been in each other’s daily company for a week, but after the first two days, she’d realized that she counted him as a close, dear, trustworthy friend… almost as close a friend as her sisters, in fact. There was just something about him that she couldn’t put her finger on… something about Nappa that was genuine, that made her trust him implicitly without question. “Nappa… what _should_ I do?”

                “That’s up to you, Ami, but… you’d better take this seriously. You’d better take **_him_** seriously,” Nappa stated gravely, his voice quiet, but more and more emphatic with every sentence as he continued. “He’s _courting you_. It’s _not a game_. _Don’t_ jerk him around. _Don’t_ give him false hope. If you’re positive that this won’t amount to anything in the long run, if you’re sure that this _won’t_ result in a pairbond, shut him down **_now_**. You’ll _crush him_ if you lead him on or wait awhile just because you like the attention. Saiyans _don’t_ court like Solarians do. When _we_ do, we’re usually in it for the long run. Sorry, Blue… no offense,” he sighed when he realized that his friendly advice had quickly turned into what amounted to an emotionally charged lecture. Gods help him, he was already falling for her hard and fast… and it didn’t help that it had all started when they’d fought each other in the war. “I just know what it’s like… being led on, I mean. Baring my soul to a woman, falling for her… only to find out that she mated another she’d been courting the moment I’d left on a quick, overnight purge. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I wouldn’t wish that kind of soul-crushing experience on my _worst enemy_ ,” he added in a heated whisper.

                “Oh… I understand,” Ami said softly, reaching over to squeeze his hand sympathetically. “I’m so sorry that you had your heart broken, Nappa. She was a cold-hearted bitch to treat you like that… and a coward to string you along and mate with someone else the moment you were gone. You know… I’ve imagined that you’d be quite the catch among your people, being a general and all,” she finished with a gentle smile, giving his hand another squeeze when he returned it weakly and shrugged.

                “I was young, then. Only nineteen. Young and stupid. I thought I’d found the real deal but I was wrong,” Nappa answered simply. “Pardon my language, but it took a few years to realize it wasn’t the pull I’d felt. Just teenage butterflies and one hell of a boner.”

                Ami’d heard worse out of Mina and Mako, so she only laughed at that and nodded in agreement. “Well, I suppose hormones will do that. I’ve heard that the teenage years are especially hard on Saiyans.”

                “Ugh… don’t get me started on my first burning,” Nappa groaned as she withdrew her hand and he tried his best to ignore the way his heart hammered in his chest in reaction to her soft touch. “It was hell, and then those crazy growth spurts, too. I remember the one winter I shot up two feet and the growing pains were horrible.”

                “Hm… Nappa?” Ami asked curiously as she looked back down at the flowers and trailed her fingertips over the petals of a lily.

                “Yeah?” Gods help him, it was impossible not to imagine those fingertips travelling every inch of him just as tenderly as they caressed those flower petals… and how he would caress every inch of her in return. With his mouth as well as his hands. _Oh, I really need to stop thinking about that before I wind up with a boner… especially since I can’t hide one in these spandex briefs. Who am I kidding…? I’m so big I can’t even hide one in those loose fatigues._

                “What does the pull feel like? And how long do you have to make eye contact with someone before you feel it? Does it work with multiple people? Or just one?” Ami inquired.

                “According to Bardock, it feels like someone punching you in the stomach, squeezing your heart, and grabbing the tendons in your chest and pulling… all at once. I think he was exaggerating, but you get the idea. As for eye contact, I don’t really know. I figure about ten seconds, maybe… and it’ll only happen with one person, and only if that person is a perfect match for you. I once heard a legend about a three-way pull, but I think it was bullshit. One thing I’ve heard, though, that I don’t think is bullshit… is that you don’t have to look someone in the eye to feel it. A few have said that they felt it during… um…” Damn, how did he word it delicately? “…intimate contact.” Judging by Ami’s blush, she’d understood the meaning, at least.

                “Is it like love at first sight?” She wondered, swallowing hard at the idea of any ‘intimate contact’ with her secret admirer.

                “Heh… yeah, I guess you could call it that,” Nappa allowed. “It _must_ be if Bardock’s doing backflips all over himself trying to woo your sister. In my experience, the pull changes people. The biggest asshole in the universe—Prince Vegeta, for example—was suddenly tied to someone and had no say in it. It just is what it is, and fighting the pull only makes things pretty unbearable for both parties. Vegeta had to learn that the world doesn’t revolve around him. He had to swallow his pride for the first time in his life and he hated it more than anything. But eventually it changed him and he and Bulma were happy. At least until the whole thing with Queen Serenity rejecting the betrothal of Prince Trunks to Princess Serenity, anyway—gods rest them both—which pretty much started the war. Then, after that, Bulma shut him out and they were both fucking miserable. They _still_ are.”

                “Gods… that sounds awful,” Ami whispered, wiping at the tears that always sprung to her eyes whenever Usagi was mentioned, even in passing. “I… maybe I… I don’t know,” she finally sighed. “I want to give my admirer a chance, but… honestly? I’m terrified of landing myself in a relationship that’ll only turn out like Bulma’s. To be mated to a man for the rest of my life, only to _hate him_ with no option of divorce. ..? The idea is frightening.”

                “Ami, most Saiyans aren’t like Vegeta. Er, well… not when it comes to their mates, at least. The majority of us would walk through fire and ice to make their mates happy. You have to understand, the prince is a very _rare_ breed of asshole,” Nappa stated far more calmly than he felt, silently praying to Cha that Ami wouldn’t leave those flowers outside of her door. “Why don’t you write him a letter back or something? Or ask to meet with him?”

                “I don’t know,” she murmured nervously, blushing at the idea of doing either of those things. “I’ll think about it. I mean… I thought about meeting him but the anonymity of it all… I like it,” Ami admitted, turning even redder at her confession. “I know I’ll have to meet him at some point, that he’ll likely confront me in person and tell me he’s the one that’s been writing to me, but right now, I… I don’t know. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should write him a letter. But… I’m scared, Nappa,” she finished in a whisper as she looked up from the floor to find him watching her with an unreadable expression. “Scared of… of falling in love… and then turning out like Bulma. Or worse… of losing him. Really scared. More than I’ve ever been in my life. We’ve already lost so many,” she breathed mournfully. “Usagi… I miss her so much. What if we go to war again, Nappa? Losing you, my friend… it would break my heart. Losing a husband… it would break my soul. I don’t think I’m strong enough to endure the former, let alone the latter.”

                Fighting down the urge to confess everything right then and there, Nappa rose from his chair, only to kneel in front of hers and wrap her tightly in his arms, resisting his beast when it attempted to unfurl his tail and wind it around her in a mixture of comfort and possessiveness. “It’ll be ok, Blue… even if there’s another war, you’ll never lose me. I’ll never be your enemy again, I swear it,” he rumbled as he lost part of the fight against his beast and began to purr quietly the moment she relaxed in his arms and her arms hugged him tightly, her tears dripping onto his shoulder. “Don’t cry, _atti_ … I know we haven’t been friends long, but… I don’t make friends with anyone lightly. And the king himself couldn’t order me to fight you. I’d mutiny first.”

                “Thank you,” Ami choked out as she tried to get the unexpected bout of tears to stop. First, the mention of Usagi and Trunks, who were surely dead somewhere on Five. Then, the thought of falling in love with her admirer, only to cross that thin line over into hatred. And then the icing on the cake… the idea of being forced to kill someone she already counted as a close, dear friend. “Nappa…? I don’t make friends lightly, either… or easily. So… thank you,” she repeated in a whisper as she relaxed into his strong, protective hold, her arms clinging to him tightly, unwilling to let him go right away.

“ _Heu… ih v’nu en_ ,” he sighed after a couple minutes when her head rested trustingly in the crook of his neck and he felt her breath against his pulse, only to feel her tense the moment the words left his mouth. “ _Kot’tor, zua_ ,” he murmured soothingly as his right hand developed a mind of its own and ran absently through her short hair, memorizing the texture as he resisted the urge bury his face in it, savoring how soft and thick and heavy it felt between his fingers. “Just been a really long time since I held a woman… even one that’s only close lady friend. That’s all,” he lied. It was an easy lie, thankfully, since the first part was true. However, ‘that’s all’ was a far cry from it… but she didn’t need to know that. Not yet. Especially not when he heard her giggle an apology and felt her relax a little—not as relaxed as before, but a clear sign of trust when one took into account how big he was. Trusting… but wary. Understandably so, after so many warriors had asked for the honor of her hand… and a few had even challenged her to a fight with the hope that she would accept without knowing any better. “Didn’t realize how much I’d missed this, honestly. Sorry,” he added contritely when she shivered in reaction to his fingertips brushing the back of her neck. “Wasn’t trying to get fresh.”

                After some hesitation, Ami fully relaxed into him, shaking her head at his apology. “I know, Nappa… and you’re fine.” After all, he’d hugged her in an attempt to comfort her, and since she’d officially met him, Nappa had been nothing but a total gentleman with her… in fact, he was one of the few that hadn’t offered courtship, and the _only_ unmated male that hadn’t made some kind of pass at her in general. “Thank you, Nappa,” she added as she closed her eyes and savored how safe and warm she felt right then, simply by being wrapped in his arms, surrounded by his massive, muscular frame and his gentle, soothing purr. _I’ve never felt so safe in all my life… not even since the war ended._

                “Well, you are,” Nappa murmured. “No matter what, Blue, if you’re in danger or even just scared, like now? You come to me. I’ll always keep you safe. No strings attached, unlike some other warriors. And if this boyfriend of yours ever hurts you or scares you,” he added for the sake of keeping her off his trail, “you come to me and I’ll take care of him for you. I’ll protect you.”

                It took Ami a moment to realize that she’d spoken her thought aloud, and when she did, she blushed in reaction, her face growing hotter as she absorbed Nappa’s words and worried that he might want her as more than a friend. A Saiyan male didn’t make that kind of offer to a woman of _any_ race unless he was interested… did he? She’d certainly _never_ heard of a man making that kind of offer otherwise. And then of course, she had to take into account his admission of attraction to her on the first day they’d met as allies, when he’d brought up their fight and the whole war trophy thing. “Nappa… you… you aren’t like, trying to tell me that…?” Unable to finish the sentence without worrying about hurting his feelings, Ami sighed. “…are you?”

                “The honest answer is complicated,” Nappa sighed. “Do you want the simple answer or the honest one?”

                Echoing his sigh, Ami shut her eyes and steeled herself for the worst, for the news that he was in love with her… and also found herself surprised by the warmth she felt at the idea. “Always the honest answer.”

                “If you want me as your friend, then that’s what I am, Blue. Always. But… if you ever want something more, I’ll be the most loyal, doting, affectionate mate in the quadrant. I’ll always put your happiness first. I’ll give you anything you want or need from me… even if the only thing you want is friendship. Even if the only thing you need is a hug when you’re scared,” he added with a gentle squeeze and a kiss to her forehead. “Just because I’ve wanted you since the moment I first saw you doesn’t mean that I ever expected you to want me back, Ami,” he clarified when she looked up at him with big, guilty, tear-filled eyes.

                “Nappa…? Are… you aren’t in love with me… are you?” Ami asked shakily, praying for a no, terrified that the beginning of such a wonderful friendship and the first real, deep connection she’d made with someone in years was about to go up in flames.

                “Phhht… no, Blue,” Nappa chuckled, smiling when she wiped at her eyes and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Wanting you and being in love aren’t the same. If you wanted me, too… then yes, in time. But as things stand? No… though I _do_ care for you and your safety deeply.”

                It wasn’t a lie if he didn’t know the answer for sure himself… right? _No, it isn’t_ , Nappa decided when she smiled and hugged him tightly, her renewed trust making the not-quite-a-lie completely worth the guilt he felt for telling it.

                Because if the feeling that filled him as he held Ami wasn’t love… then what _was_ love? Hell, if _this_ wasn’t love, Nappa wasn’t sure if he could handle the real thing.

#########################

                Later that night, after her shift with Nappa was over, Ami sat at her desk, mulling over her options as she contemplated her heart for nearly two hours in silence… and finally picked up a pen and fished out a blank piece of her monogrammed stationary.

                The words she wanted to say came surprisingly quickly, and as she finished her letter, she found herself smiling, remembering Nappa’s words to her towards the end of the shift, well after the hug-fest and the emotional baring of their souls… something that had filled a void inside of her that Usagi’s death had left behind.

                _Just tell him how you feel, Blue. Just like we did earlier. Lay it all out for him honestly, and keep it simple. Unless, of course, you’ve got some Saiyan poetry of your own in mind. Heh, I see that blush! Something tells me there’s gonna be a warrior walking with a spring in his step tomorrow morning!_

“It feels so wonderful to have a friend like that again,” Ami sighed happily, unable to wipe the smile from her face. Yes, Rei, Mako and Mina were her friends, but none of them had listened like Usagi had whenever something was bothering Ami. Usagi had been the one that had known when something was wrong with her, the only one that had been able to get the words out of her, the only one to _really listen_ , to get to the root of the problem and help her solve it. The others would try, yes, but only Usagi had truly understood her… only Usagi had truly understood _all_ of them.

                But now she had Nappa, a true friend… and he’d understood her. He’d understood her, he’d held her, and he’d advised her. “Thank you, Nappa,” Ami sighed as she folded the letter to her paramour and stuck it in an envelope labelled ‘Faithfully Yours,’ then rose from her desk and went straight to the door, where she stuck the envelope through a gap near the top and hoped that its intended recipient was the one that took it.

                “If Raditz grabs it,” she mused aloud, “I’m going to smack the piss out of him in the training dome tomorrow afternoon. Hahaha… Nappa’ll probably hold him down for me!” She giggled as she decided to head for her bathtub, and then her bed, resolving to leave the letter alone and not even check it until morning.


End file.
